Refrigerating Appliance

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a refrigerating appliance for storing fresh food comprising a cooling section with one or more compartments ( 1, 2, 3, 4 ) being separated from each other by means of partition walls ( 5, 6, 7 ), and a device ( 19 ) for forced cooling air circulation arranged in the cooling section. Spaced from a back ( 10 ) a vertical wall ( 11 ) is arranged, thus creating a vertical channel ( 16 ). slots ( 13, 15 ) and an array of openings ( 18, 21, 22 ) are formed in said vertical wall ( 11 ) connecting the vertical channel ( 16 ) with the compartments ( 1, 2, 3, 4 ) and the cooling section, respectively.

An invention is disclosed referring to a refrigerating appliance for storing fresh food, comprising a cooling section with one or more compartments separated from each other by means of partition walls, and a device for the forced circulation of cooling air arranged in said cooling section.

Both warm an cold areas depending on arrangement of a flat evaporator on the one hand and an increase of warmth on the walls of a refrigerating appliance on the other hand always occur in refrigerating appliances. With the appliances with forced cooling air circulation, cold and warm areas, respectively, occur where the air is blown into the appliance in a single spot by means of a diffuser which more or less diffuses the air over the entire area of the refrigerating appliance. As a result, the cooling air reaches a relatively high velocity which creates particular cold spots in front of an intake opening(s). Thus, the foodstuff placed in the vicinity of the intake openings is exposed to the coolest air and can even freeze in certain cases.

It is the object of the present invention to create a refrigerating appliance which ensures in the section(s) for storing fresh food as low temperature gradients as possible.

The object as set above is solved by a wall made of a material having a good thermal conductivity, said wall being arranged inside a cooling section, which is optionally divided into compartments by means of partition walls, said wall being spaced from the back of the refrigerating appliance, and said wall extending over the entire width of said back. Hence, a vertically extending channel is created near the place where an evaporator is located. The latter may also be formed as an integral part of the back. Furthermore, it is provided according to the invention that the first horizontal slot is left between the bottom of the refrigerating appliance and said vertical wall, and the second horizontal slot is left between the ceiling of the refrigerating appliance and said vertical wall. Both said slots represent a connection between the vertical channel and the cooling section and each compartment, respectively. In addition, said vertical wall is formed with at least one array of openings which extend into at least one compartment and which are connected with said vertical channel. In order to create a forced cooling air circulation there is provided, according to the invention, a fan fixed to the vertical wall the intake thereof is connected to the cooling section and the outlet thereof is connected to the vertical channel. Preferably, the fan is placed in a manner that the outlet thereof is located directly in front of the evaporator and, preferably, centrally with respect to the evaporator, resulting in the cooling air being cooled down more consistently.

It is provided, according to the invention, that the vertical wall is made of a material having a good thermal conductivity, preferably of metal. Cooling down in the cooling section is achieved in two ways, namely by dynamic convection, and by static convection and radiation, respectively. The radiation cooling by means of the vertical wall made of a material having a good thermal conductivity has an advantage that said wall is not as cold as the evaporator, resulting in the areas of compartments, which are in direct vicinity of said wall, are not subcooled.

The invention will be more readily understood on reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a refrigerating appliance according to the invention, the door being removed; and

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section along the line II-II of the refrigerating appliance of FIG. 1.

A refrigerating appliance according to the invention comprises a cooling section which is divided in height into multiple compartments 1, 2, 3, 4 separated by means of horizontal partition walls 5, 6, 7, said cooling section being enclosed by means of an insulation covering 8 and closed by a door 9 (shown in the dot-dashed line in FIG. 2). Spaced from a back 10 and inside the cooling section, there is arranged a vertical wall 11 extending over the entire width of the back 10, and is vertically placed in a manner that the lower end thereof, i.e. the end extending into compartment 3, is spaced from a bottom 12 of the cooling section, thus creating a slot 13 extending over the entire width of the cooling section, and that the upper end thereof, i.e. the end extending into compartment 1, is spaced from a ceiling 14 of the cooling section, thus creating a slot 15 extending over the entire width of the cooling section. Said partition walls 5, 6, 7 can be integral parts of the vertical wall 11, or can be formed in a manner that they can be optionally extracted, in a way known per se, from the cooling section. Said vertical wall is made of a material having a good thermal conductivity, preferably of metal. Hence, a vertically extending channel 16 is created between the back 10 and the vertical wall 11 being connected by means of the slots 13 and 15, respectively, to the lower compartment 4 and the upper compartment 1, respectively. An evaporator 17 for cooling down the cooling section and extending in the vertical direction is arranged in said channel 16, where said evaporator can be either an integral part of the back 10 or is placed in the interspace between the back 10 and the vertical wall 11. Furthermore, an array of equally spaced openings 18, which additionally connect the channel 16 with the compartment 1, is formed in the vertical wall 11 and spaced under the slot 15.

In the next compartment 2, viewed from the very top compartment towards the bottom one, and in the central area of said compartment 2 there is a fan 19 fixed to said vertical wall 11, the intake thereof is connected to the cooling section, and the outlet thereof is connected to the vertical channel 16, said fan 19 creating a forced cooling air stream in the cooling section. The fan 19 is controlled by means of temperature sensors in a manner known per se and not shown in detail. In addition, at least one array of mutually equally spaced openings 20, 21 connecting the compartment 2 with the vertical channel 16 is provided in the vertical wall 11 and horizontally spaced on both sides from said fan 19.

In the next compartment 3, i.e. in the compartment directly above the lower compartment 4, said vertical wall 11 is further provided with a preferably horizontal array of mutually equally spaced openings 22 which connect compartment 3 with the vertical channel 16. Said openings 22 are preferably arranged in the upper area of the compartment 3.

Said fan 19 draws the air from the cooling section (arrow A) and pushes it through the vertical wall 11 into the vertical channel 16. Said air stream A, entering the channel 16, hits the evaporator 17 where it splits to an upwards stream 23 and a downwards stream 24, and is cooled down by means of the evaporator 17. The upwards stream 23 enters the upper compartment 1 through the slot 15 and through the array of openings 18 in the vertical wall, whereupon it travels horizontally and slightly downwardly over the compartment 1, and afterwards it enters, between the partition wall 5 and door 9, the compartment where the fan 19 is located. The downwards stream 24 further splits into two parts, where the first part thereof i.e. the air stream 25, enters the lower compartment 4 through the slot 13 in the vertical wall 11, and the second part thereof i.e. the air stream 26, enters compartment 3, located above compartment 4, through the openings 22 in the vertical wall 11. In both compartments 3, 4 the cooling air stream advances horizontally and slightly downwardly and afterwards it continues to advance between each partition wall 6, 7 and door 9 of the refrigerating appliance, whereupon it enters the compartment where the fan 19 is located. The downwards path of the cooling air depends in each case on the physical characteristics thereof, and during its streaming, cools down fresh food in the cooling section to the required temperature. The additional air stream 27 being cooled by the evaporator 17 enters through the openings 21 in the compartment 2 where the fan is fixed to the vertical wall 11, and is mixed with the other three air streams 23, 25 and 26, all being drawn by the fan 19 as the starting air stream A and forced in the vertical channel 16.

The foodstuff located in each compartment is cooled down on the one hand by means of said air streams being blown in a manner that they enclose the surfaces which are the most thermally stressed and the inner surfaces of the refrigerating appliance, respectively, that could be called dynamic convection. On the other hand, cooling is also achieved directly by means of the vertical wall 11 made of a material with a good thermal conductivity, that could be called static convection or radiation. 

1. A refrigerating appliance for storing fresh food, comprising a cooling section with one or more compartments separated from each other by means of partition walls, and a device arranged in said cooling section for forced circulation of cooling air, characterized in that a vertical wall consisting of a material with a good thermal conductivity and extending over the entire width of a back is arranged inside a cooling section and spaced from the back, thus creating a vertically extending channel, a horizontal slot is left between a bottom of the refrigerating appliance and said vertical wall, and a horizontal slot is left between a ceiling of the refrigerating appliance and said vertical wall, the vertical wall is formed with at least one array of openings extending into at least one compartment being connected with the channel, and a fan for forced circulation of the cooling air is fixed to the vertical wall and centrally with respect to an evaporator, the intake of said fan is connected with the cooling section and the outlet of said fan is connected to the channel.
 2. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one array of mutually equally spaced openings connecting the cooling section with the vertical channel is provided in the vertical wall and horizontally spaced on both sides from said fan.
 3. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the evaporator for cooling down the cooling section can be an integral part of the back, or is located in the interspace between the back and the vertical wall.
 4. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that openings are mutually equidistantly arranged and spaced below the slot in the upper compartment.
 5. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the openings are mutually equidistantly arranged in the upper area of the compartment.
 6. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the slot leads into the lower compartment, and the slot leads into the upper compartment.
 7. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the vertical wall is made of metal.
 8. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that cooling down of the cooling section is achieved by means of dynamic convection and by means of static convection.
 9. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that openings are mutually equidistantly arranged and spaced below the slot in the upper compartment.
 10. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that the openings are mutually equidistantly arranged in the upper area of the compartment.
 11. Refrigerating appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that the slot leads into the lower compartment, and the slot leads into the upper compartment. 